Cleaner for water-tube boilers



Apr. w, 1923. msws? P.. G. HANDOLL CLEANER FOR WATER TUBE BOILERS Filed Nov. 1, 1918 2 sheets-sheet 1 Apr. 110, 223. 2,450,957

P. G. HANDOLL CLEANER FOR WATER TUBE BOILERS Filed Nov 1, 1918 2 sheets-sheet 2 x. N E Q z;avezifoz- QZ Q'ZZJOZZ Patented Apr. 10, 1923.

UNHTED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

PERCY GILBERT HANDOLL, F BATTERSEA, LONDON, ENGLAND.

CLEANER FOR WATER-TUBE BOILERS.

Application filed November 1, 1918. Serial No. 260,709.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that PERCY GILBERT HANDOLL, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, whose residence is 83 Queens C rcus, Battersea, London, England, has in- I vented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleaners for VVater-tube Boilers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention for improvements in cleaners for water tube boilers relates to a steam blower fixed in the wall of the furnace of a water tube boiler having the tubes spaced apart from each other to form spaces for the heating products of combustion and adapted to project a series of steam ets on to the external surfaces of the tubes to clear them of soot, dust and the like and has" for its object when the steam is turned on to the blower to automatically rotate the blower to distribute the steam in all directions.v If desired, the rotary movement may be accompanied by a longitudinal movement of the blower across the tubes.

Now according to this invention a steam blower tube is mounted in a cylinder fixed on the wall of the boiler furnace so that it can be moved forwards and backwards preferably across the top of the water tubes and inside the furnace is provided with a number of small orifices or jetsthat direct the steam onto the tubes the jets being say the distance apart of the tubes of the upper layer, its forward and backward motion being slightly greater then this distance. Outside the furnace the blower tube is connected to a suitable supply of high pressure steam. A piston on the blower tube works in the .cylinder and a pin mounted on the tube works in a helical or inclined slot in the cylinder or vice versa. mitted to the forward end of the cylinder and passes through holes to the blower tube and acts also on the forward face of the piston. A small vent or leak allows a portion of the steam to get to the back of the piston.

Assuming the piston is in its forward position the steam is turned on and acts on the forward face of the piston to quickly force it backwards, then gradually as the steam leaks to the back of the piston it is moved slowly forwards and at the same time is slightly rotated so that the steam jets act directly over the whole of the tubes both crosswise and lengthwise. When this action is completed the steam is again turned off The steam is ad-- and the action can be repeated. In some cases a sliding rod projecting rearwardly of the cylinder and connected to the piston may be used to draw back the piston and blower tube when the steam is off. Guides mounted on the tubes may be employed to support the free end of the end of the blower tube.

' In the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings Fig. 1. is a vertical section, through a boiler cleaner and the water tubes showing a boiler cleaner constructed according to this invention, and Fig. 2 shows a slight modification of the same.

Referring to Fig. 1, the blower tube a has near its outer end a piston?) working in a cylinder 0 mounted on the wall of the furnace, and the tube a projects into the furnace across-the water tubes d. At its rear end the blower tube a is provided with an inclined slot 6 into which takes a fixed pin f mounted on the cylinder. Steam is admitted to the forward end of the cylinder through the passage 9 and a steam pipe connected to this passage is provided with a stop cock or tap h. i

The blower tube is guided by its piston, by a packed gland a at the forward end of the cylinder, by a bearing in the forward end of a bracket or tube Z fixed in the boilers wall and by guides m mounted on the boiler tubes. The blower tube is provided over the water tubes with orifices or nozzles n. Thesteam is admitted to the blowerv tube through the orifices 0. Inside the blower tube rearward of the orifices o is a small adjustable leak valve p.

The action of the apparatus is as follows, supposing the piston 72 is atthe forward or inner end of its cylinder 0 the steam is admitted and causes the piston b to move rapidly backward or outward to its rear position, the steam then gradually leaks through the valve 12 to the back of the piston and as it fills up the rear end of the cylinder, the blower tube a and piston I) move slowly forwards, owing to the greater pressure area on that side owing to the area of the end of the blower tube. As it moves forwards across the boiler tubes it is rotated,.say a quarter turn (45) by the action of the pin f in the slot 0. During this action the steam issuing from the orifices or jetsn acts gradually on the whole surface of the tubes and thoroughly cleans them.

The actual position of the vent or leak is immaterial so long as it leads to the back of the piston. It may be a passage in the cylinder walls or a space around the cylinder in communication with the back of the piston. v

In the modification shown in Fig. 2 the pins 7 are mounted on the blower tube a and work in inclined slots 6 in the bracket or pipe Z, The small leak to the back of the piston takes place through a small passage 22 in a plug screwing into the end of the blower tube. A tube r slides in a gland on the outer end of the cylinder and screws onto the outer end of a rod 8 having a wing nut at its outer end to lock the tube in position on the rod and passing through the tube and at its inner end is screwed into the plug and secured by a lock nut w. By adjusting the tube 1' on the rod 8 the leak of steam through the passage '12 can be adjusted from the outside by varying the dimension of the transverse part of the passage.

Attention is here directed to the fact that the blower tube a is at all times projected across the tube-containing space of the boiler and while said tube is projected to a greater extent when the steam supply is turned on, this projection is only slight and is intended principally toimpart a rotary motion to the tube by means of the groove e and the pin 7. Attention is directed also to the fact that when the steam supply is turned on, the tube is suddenly shifted in one direction and at the same time rapidly rotated, so as to blow the more prominent scales and the like from the boiler tubes, as the steam is expelled forcibly through the openings 12. Due to the arrangement of parts provided however t-he tube returns to normal position slowly and consequently it slowly rotates in the opposite direction from that in which. it turned on its previous movement. The result is, that thesteam jets are not only directed onto the tubes from a different direction, but since the rotation of the tube is now relatively slow, the steam jets will play upon the tubes d more thoroughly than when the steam supply is first admitted to the cylinder 0 and the blower tube a.

I claim 1. A cleaner for water tube boilers comprising a steam blower tube mounted to exadapted to reciprocate in said cylinder to rotate said blower tube, said piston having a vent adapted to admit steam slowly from the front to the back of the piston and rear end of the blower tube.

2. In a cleaner for boiler tubes, a hollow cylinder mounted exteriorly of the boiler, a

blower tube extending from said cylinder into the boiler and provided with steam out let means adjacent the boiler tubes, a piston operable in said cylinder and connected to said blower tube for rotating the latter, means to supply steam to one end of said cylinder, said blower tube being provided with a port through which its interior communicates with the end of. said cylinder on the side of said piston adjacent to said steam inlet, a vent being provided to permit steam to ass to the other end of said cylinder, sai vent being small in comparison to said steam inlet.

3. A cleaner for water 'tube boilers, consisting of a steam blower tube mounted to extend substantially transversely to the length of the boiler tubes and formed with steam outlet orifices in the part above the boiler tubes, a cylinder mounted outside the boiler furnace, a steam supply means connected with the forward end of the c linder, and guiding and actuating means or the blower tube including a piston. mounted on the rear end of the blower tube and adapted to work in the cylinder, said piston having therein a vent adapted to admit steam slowly from the front to the back of the piston and rear end of the blower tube.

4. A cleaner for water tube boilers, consisting of a movable tubular steam blower with lateral steam outlet orifices at its inner end, means for supporting and guiding the blower so that its inner end extends sub-- stantially transversely to the length of the boiler tubes, means for connecting the blower with a supply of steam, means including a piston with an adjustable vent for utilizing I the steam pressure to traverse the blower across the boiler tubes, and a pinand-slot connection between the blower and its support to rotate the blower as it is traversed.

5. A boiler tube cleaner comprising a blower tube normally projected in the tubecontaining space of the boiler, steam supply means for said tube, and means for utilizmg steam pressure to rapidly rotatesaid tube in one direction and to then slowly rotate it in the other direction.

6. A cleaner for boiler tubes comprising a rotatably mounted blower tube projected normally across the tube-containing portion of the boiler, a piston associated with said tube, a cylinder in which said piston is op erable, means for supplyingsteam to said cylinder and blower tube to move said piston rapidly in one direction and to simultaneously s ray steam from said blower tube, meansor rotating said tube when said piston is moved, and means whereby the steampressure is utilized to slowly return the piston to its normal position.

7 In a cleaner for boiler-tubes which are spaced from one another, a hollow cylinder mounted exteriorly of the boiler, a blowerlltl 7 e ea? that steam therefrom strikes the boiler-tubes,

a iston operable in said cylinder and united with said blower-tube for reciprocating the latter, means to supply compressed steam to one end of said cylinder, said blower-tube being provided with a port through which its interior communicates with the end of said cylinder on the side of said piston adjacent to said steam inlet, a vent being provided to permit steam to pass to the other end of said cylinder, said vent being very small in 3 comparison to said steam inlet.

8. A cleaner for boiler tubes comprising a blower tube and means for mounting the same to. slide and rotate, steam supply means for said tube, means for utilizing the steam pressure to rapidly slide the tube in one directioi'i and to slowly return the same, and means for rotating the tube as it slides. a

In testimony whereof he has aflixed his signature.

PERCY GILBERT HANDOLL. 

